291:
of several engagements, he reached the battlefield of
Gettysburg before the dead were buried, remaining for eighty-four days, making plans of the field, visiting the wounded in hospital, and by permission taking the convalescent officers over the field, by whom their positions and movements were pointed out and established. During this period books full of notes from these actors were secured within a few weeks of the battle. With this information and sketches thus secured, he visited the Army of the Potomac, spending the winter of 1863–64 in consultation with the officers of every regiment and battery, whose conversations and explanations were carefully noted and preserved. At the close of the war, Mr. Bachelder issued an invitation to the many officers whose acquaintance he had made to visit Gettysburg with him for historical purposes, which was accepted by over one thousand; forty-nine of them generals commanding. From the acquaintance thus secured has resulted, during the past sixteen years, a most valuable correspondence regarding the battle of Gettysburg.
31:
219:
230:, July 1–3, 1863. He studied the terrain via horseback and drew an isometric map of the battlefield. He visited field hospitals, interviewed wounded soldiers of both armies, and determined the position on his map of every unit engaged in the battle. That fall he published a panoramic view of Gettysburg. During visits to the Army's winter quarters, he claims to have interviewed the commanders of every regiment and battery in the Army of the Potomac. He later organized reunions on the field and accompanied veterans over the terrain and placed wooden stakes into the ground to identify important points of the battle.
307:
237:, entitled "The Repulse of Longstreet's Assault at the Battle of Gettysburg," a massive work that measured 7.5 by 20 feet. Bachelder wrote an accompanying guidebook and toured widely with the canvas, lecturing across the United States. In 1873, he published a guidebook to the battle, which was well received by the public.
290:
It appears that Mr. Bachelder, having the advantage of a military education, and love of history, went to the front early in 1862, more than a year before the battle of
Gettysburg, to be in a position to collect data when the most important battle of the War was fought. After working up the details
240:
Bachelder's contribution to
Gettysburg was more than artistic. From 1883 to 1887, he served in the position as Superintendent of Tablets and Legends for the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association, and is probably responsible more than any man for the placement of monuments and battlefield
267:
and the interviews he had done, but he has been criticized by some historians because his personal interviews, which would be considered more accurate than reports compiled years after the event, affected only about 10% of the 2,550 pages that he sent to
Washington in October 1886.
176:, to work at a school that would later become known as the Pennsylvania Military Institute, becoming its principal in 1851. He became involved with the Pennsylvania state militia and was appointed a colonel in 1852, a title that was associated with him the rest of his life.
205:
wrote in early 1863, "At Fair Oaks, Virginia, I frequently met Mr. Bachelder, at that time making sketches of various phases of the Battle of Seven Pines and Fair Oaks. Several of the sketches were shown to me, and I think them
322:, in 1894. His body was then transported the 79 miles to be buried alongside his only child, Charlotte who had died at age 13. Their graves are located in a small family cemetery on Stevens Hill Road in
194:
in hopes of being present at a decisive battle. There, he would be able to examine the topography of the battlefield, interview participants, and publish a written and illustrated history of the battle.
198:
Bachelder was a welcome accompaniment to the Army, as evidenced by a number of letters in his personal papers from prominent generals who complimented him on his work. For example,
144:(September 29, 1825 – December 22, 1894) was a portrait and landscape painter, lithographer, and photographer, but best known as the preeminent 19th-century historian of the
183:. From his brief association with military topics, he retained a lifelong interest in them, and when the Civil War began in 1861, he was already collecting notes on
263:
signed into law a bill that provided $ 50,000 to
Bachelder to write a detailed history of the battle of Gettysburg. Bachelder based his manuscript on the
179:
In 1853 Bachelder returned to New
Hampshire, where he married Elizabeth Barber Stevens, and began his career as an artist. Elizabeth was a niece to Gen.
446:
187:, planning to paint an accurate rendition of the battle. When he realized that reliable materials were hard to locate, he decided to accompany the
491:
496:
486:
343:
481:
501:
264:
476:
471:
246:
428:
414:
389:
199:
326:, close to the family home. His widow, Elizabeth, died in 1914 and was interred alongside her husband and daughter.
257:
226:
Bachelder's most noted work, which would occupy a good portion of the remainder of his life, was after the
180:
30:
218:
95:
323:
80:
319:
165:
69:
53:
242:
169:
269:
153:
384:
Desjardin, Thomas A. These
Honored Dead: How the Story of Gettysburg Shaped American Memory."
369:
276:
184:
173:
466:
461:
409:. Edited by David L. Ladd and Audrey J. Ladd. 3 vols. Dayton, OH: Morningside Press, 1994.
227:
145:
8:
260:
250:
234:
191:
233:
In 1870, noted artist James Walker was commissioned by
Bachelder to paint an account of
149:
125:
310:
The gravestones of John B. Bachelder, his daughter
Charlotte, and his wife, Elizabeth.
296:
Senator Wade
Hampton, March 17, 1880, Report of U.S. Senate Military Affairs Committee
424:
410:
385:
272:
historians also complained that he chose to interview very few Confederate officers.
441:
279:
202:
286:
on March 17, 1880, in a report to the Senate from its Military Affairs Committee:
371:
The Granite Monthly: A New Hampshire Magazine Devoted to History ..., Volume 47
283:
253:
peaked. All but a few monuments on the battlefield bear some of his influence.
35:
John B. Bachelder and his wife Elizabeth at the Gettysburg battlefield in 1888.
455:
344:"Devil's Den Part 5: Licensed Battlefield Guides Garry Adelman and Tim Smith"
306:
91:
152:. He was a dominant factor in the preservation and memorialization of the
135:
historian, portrait and landscape painter, lithographer, and photographer
422:
These Honored Dead: How the Story of Gettysburg Shaped American Memory.
245:. He coined the phrase "Copse of Trees" and invented the concept of a "
188:
107:
315:
168:. He was educated at Captain Alden Partridge's Military School in
275:
Bachelder's activities at Gettysburg were described in detail by
172:
and then at an academy in Gilmanton. He eventually moved to
368:
Metcalf, Henry Harrison; McClintock, John Norris (1915).
407:
The Bachelder Papers: Gettysburg in Their Own Words
367:
453:
210:the most accurate of any I have ever seen."
442:John B. Bachelder at American Art Gallery
305:
217:
492:Deaths from pneumonia in Massachusetts
454:
497:People from Gilmanton, New Hampshire
487:Historians of the American Civil War
156:in the latter part of the century.
13:
482:19th-century American male writers
399:
247:High Water Mark of the Confederacy
222:Bachelder's map of the battlefield
14:
513:
502:American male non-fiction writers
435:
477:19th-century American historians
472:People of the American Civil War
29:
378:
361:
336:
1:
447:National Park Service history
329:
213:
159:
374:. H.H. Metcalf. p. 447.
7:
10:
518:
324:Nottingham, New Hampshire
131:
121:
113:
101:
87:
81:Nottingham, New Hampshire
75:
59:
40:
28:
21:
320:Hyde Park, Massachusetts
301:
241:markers, both Union and
166:Gilmanton, New Hampshire
92:United States of America
70:Hyde Park, Massachusetts
54:Gilmanton, New Hampshire
311:
299:
249:" at which the famous
223:
164:Bachelder was born in
154:Gettysburg Battlefield
117:Civilian combat artist
420:Desjardin, Thomas A.
309:
288:
221:
174:Reading, Pennsylvania
142:John Badger Bachelder
23:John Badger Bachelder
228:Battle of Gettysburg
146:Battle of Gettysburg
405:Bachelder, John B.
261:Rutherford B. Hayes
192:Army of the Potomac
314:Bachelder died of
312:
224:
150:American Civil War
126:American Civil War
51:September 29, 1825
16:American historian
139:
138:
63:December 22, 1894
509:
393:
382:
376:
375:
365:
359:
358:
356:
355:
348:Gettysburg Daily
340:
297:
265:Official Records
251:Pickett's Charge
235:Pickett's Charge
203:John C. Caldwell
103:
66:
50:
48:
33:
19:
18:
517:
516:
512:
511:
510:
508:
507:
506:
452:
451:
438:
402:
400:Further reading
397:
396:
383:
379:
366:
362:
353:
351:
342:
341:
337:
332:
304:
298:
295:
216:
181:Benjamin Butler
162:
132:Other work
94:
83:
76:Place of burial
68:
64:
52:
46:
44:
36:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
515:
505:
504:
499:
494:
489:
484:
479:
474:
469:
464:
450:
449:
444:
437:
436:External links
434:
433:
432:
418:
401:
398:
395:
394:
377:
360:
334:
333:
331:
328:
303:
300:
293:
284:South Carolina
215:
212:
161:
158:
137:
136:
133:
129:
128:
123:
119:
118:
115:
111:
110:
105:
99:
98:
89:
85:
84:
79:
77:
73:
72:
67:(aged 69)
61:
57:
56:
42:
38:
37:
34:
26:
25:
22:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
514:
503:
500:
498:
495:
493:
490:
488:
485:
483:
480:
478:
475:
473:
470:
468:
465:
463:
460:
459:
457:
448:
445:
443:
440:
439:
430:
429:0-30681-382-3
426:
423:
419:
416:
415:0-89029-320-1
412:
408:
404:
403:
391:
390:0-30681-382-3
387:
381:
373:
372:
364:
349:
345:
339:
335:
327:
325:
321:
317:
308:
292:
287:
285:
281:
278:
273:
271:
266:
262:
259:
254:
252:
248:
244:
238:
236:
231:
229:
220:
211:
209:
204:
201:
196:
193:
190:
186:
182:
177:
175:
171:
167:
157:
155:
151:
147:
143:
134:
130:
127:
124:
120:
116:
112:
109:
106:
100:
97:
93:
90:
86:
82:
78:
74:
71:
62:
58:
55:
43:
39:
32:
27:
20:
421:
406:
380:
370:
363:
352:. Retrieved
350:. 2011-08-15
347:
338:
313:
289:
280:Wade Hampton
274:
255:
239:
232:
225:
207:
197:
178:
163:
141:
140:
122:Battles/wars
65:(1894-12-22)
467:1894 deaths
462:1825 births
243:Confederate
185:Bunker Hill
456:Categories
354:2015-08-21
330:References
214:Gettysburg
200:Brig. Gen.
160:Early life
108:Union Army
88:Allegiance
47:1825-09-29
316:pneumonia
258:President
256:In 1880,
294:—
270:Southern
170:Pembroke
102:Service/
277:Senator
148:in the
427:
413:
388:
208:by far
104:branch
302:Death
189:Union
96:Union
425:ISBN
411:ISBN
386:ISBN
114:Rank
60:Died
41:Born
318:in
282:of
458::
346:.
431:.
417:.
392:.
357:.
49:)
45:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
